Understanding Photoshop Elements


The Workspace


Photoshop Elements has two main workspaces:
  • organizer.png--Use the Organizer for finding, organizing, and sharing your photos and media files
  • editor.png--Use the Editor for creating, editing, and fixing your images.



Tools

toolbox1.png

Using Layers

1. Layers give you the opportunity to add various components onto a image without permanently changing your original image.
2. Layers are stakced one on top of the other to allow you to create an effect that you would want for the total picture.
3. Each layer is independent until you merge the layers together.

Importing and Organizing Your Photos

1. Import your photos by opening Photoshop Elements and click on View and Organize Photos. When the organizer opens, choose File--Get Photos--From Files and folders. Select the photos that you want and click Get Photos.
2. View your images in the Photo Browser.
3. Can apply tags to your photos.
4. Make a collection to help organize your photos. Select all photos that belong in that collection and drag the collection icon to them.

Editing Your Photos

1. Open your photo in Quick Fix or Full Edit views.
2. The Healing Brush tool and the Spot Healing Brush tool help you easily rid your photos of flaws such as blemishes, dark circles, and other areas that you would like to fix.

Create a Slide Show

1. Select the photos for the slide show.
2. Start the slide show creation. In the Organizer, click the Create button , and then choose Slide Show. Click OK to open the Slide Show Editor.
3. Change the order of your slides.
4. Add narration.
5. Output your slide show.

Create a Photo Album

1. Select the photos for the album. Open the Organizer and select the photos you’d like to include in the album.
2. Create a multi-page layout. Click the Create button , and choose Album Pages. In the New Album Pages dialog box, select a paper size, layout, and theme.
3. Add frames to photos. In the Artwork And Effects palette, click the Artwork button . Then choose Frames from the first menu and a category from the second. Experiment with different frames by dragging them onto photos.
4. Rearrage overlapping photos. Simply right-click one of the overlapping photos, and choose either Bring To Front or Send To Back.
5. Add a colorful background, and print your album.



Tutorials

Basic Tutorials

Graphics Soft--Contains some basic Photoshop Elements tutorials to help you get started with the software.
The Photoshop Roadmap--A good variety of Elements tutorials



Scrapbooking Help

Website Work--You will find some digital scrapbooking tutorials here as well as basic Photoshop Elements Tutorials.